Albus ran up to the dormitory and gathered his and Scorpius' homework and books while Scorpius talked to Rose. He picked up the seeming thousands of books, quills and pieces of parchment then shoved his in one bag and Scorpius' in another. He ran back down to see Scorpius and Rose waiting by the portrait exit of the fat lady. Rose had all her books in her own bag and was looking a bit embarrassed.
"Sorry that I was so upset," Rose apologized, her eyes looking down at the floor.
"Yeah, sorry I made you so mad," Albus apologized also.
"Well, Lizzie is waiting for us in the library, let's go!" Scorpius said. He took his belongings from Albus and they all headed to the library. Lizzie was seated at a 4 person table, her books and homework spread out. She saw the three of them and smiled, patting the chairs beside her. They hurried over and sat down. Rose began getting out her work, as did Albus and Scorpius. Once they had, they didn't start it, they began talking in a low whisper.
"Any guesses on why Hagrid is in such a bad mood?" Lizzie asked in a barely audible tone.
Albus and Scorpius shook their heads. "None whatsoever," Albus said grimly.
"What do you mean, Hagrid is upset?" Rose asked.
"While you were in the Gryffindor common room, we went with Lizzie to see Hagrid. He yelled at us telling us to go away then slammed the door. He didn't look very good," Scorpius said.
"I wonder why," Rose asked in amazement. Hagrid almost always was cheerful and loved when they visited.
"Well, someone could have done something to him," Lizzie suggested.
"What would hurt him that badly?" Rose asked.
"One of his 'pets' possibly. Maybe Professor Bumble made him get rid of them," Albus suggested.
"Since when were you brilliant?" Rose asked Albus. "That's probably the smartest thing I've ever heard you say!"
Madam Pince, the cranky librarian, came over and said "if you don't quiet down, you'll all have to leave." Then she stalked back to where she was reading a very old and tattered book.
Rose rolled her eyes and began working on her homework. Lizzie, Albus and Scorpius did as well. An hour later, they were pretty much finished and it was lunch time. They packed up once again, dropped their stuff off and sat down the great hall for lunch. Lunch was moderately loud, not remotely as loud as the rest of the week had been, but not as quiet as every other year. It was a rather short lunch for most students, as most of them didn't want to sit in a room with food after they were full if they could be in a more comfortable place talking or finishing work. Hagrid's specially made chair was vacant during lunch, making Albus feel a little uneasy. After he and his friends finished, they went back to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the forbidden forest. This time, Rose knocked. The door cracked and Hagrid's bushy pink face appeared. His eyes were swollen and red, and his face tear stained.
"Go 'way," he mumbled and began shutting the door. All four of them put their weight into not letting it close.
"Wait! We just wanted to know what's wrong!" Lizzie said as she pushed. As soon as she had said that, the door slammed shut again. Rose looked at them in amazement, once again. She turned and knocked determinedly on the door. It didn't open, but Hagrid yelled "I'm not lettin' yeh in!"
"Please Hagrid, we want to help you," pleaded Rose. They waited a few hopeful minutes, then turned and stumbled down the steps. As they did so, Hagrid opened the door and said "fine, c'min if yeh must."
With a new sense of pride and achievement, they four walked inside. The hut was in horrible shape. It was covered in dust and looked as if Hagrid hadn't done anything but lie in the bent camping cot in the corner.
They sat down on the dust covered sofa and Albus asked "what's wrong, Hagrid?"
Hagrid lowered himself into the chair across from them and said "it's F-f-fang, he's g-g-gone!"
"Gone? Where?" Scorpius asked.
"Dunno, jus' vanished in the nigh'," Hagrid answered.
"Well, I'm sure he'll be back," comforted Rose.
"If he doesn't come back in a week, we will go out and find him," Lizzie said. "Okay?"
Hagrid nodded, but continued to rock back and forth worriedly. "What if Aragog's kids find him? He'll be a goner… or the centaurs…"
"He'll be fine," Rose said in a determined voice.
Hagrid stopped crying after an hour or so, but still seemed very upset.
"Is there something else bothering you?" Scorpius asked Hagrid.
Hagrid looked at him. "Oh, nuthin' I'm fine, really," he said. "Well, it's already 1 o'clock. You should be going back to the castle now, off yeh go." He opened the door.
"Hagrid, you sure there is nothing else bothering you?" Albus asked.
"It's time to go," Hagrid said through gritted teeth. He ushered them out and shut the door.
As they walked up to the castle, Lizzie said "I'm almost positive that's not what is bothering him."
"Or it is but that's not all," Scorpius suggested.
"That's probably right. Fang is missing, but there is another thing bothering him," Rose said.
"Well, I think we should leave him alone for a week, and then go back next Saturday. Maybe Fang'll be back and he'll be happy. If he's not, we can conclude that's no the only thing bothering him," Albus said. They entered the castle, headed to their common rooms and went their separate ways, leaving each one to wonder to themselves about why Hagrid was acting so strangly.